Monday, June 7, 2010

Taking the final flight

Ceremonies and a bittersweet celebration marked the end of an era for the 111th Fighter Wing.

By Annie TaskerBucks County Courier TimesJune 07, 2010 03:02 AM

After 86 years of flying operations, the 111th Fighter Wing made its final flight Sunday at a ceremony many members called bittersweet.

While the Navy is leaving the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Horsham next year, the 111th, part of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, will remain there and transition into a non-flight operation. Its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircrafts will be distributed to other military units during the summer.

The fighter wing marked its last flying mission Sunday with a day of ceremonies and celebrations at the base for its members and their families.

Col. James Blaydon, Col. Howard Eissler, Lt. Col. William Griffin and Lt. Col. Scott Hreso took to the sky in A-10s for "fini flights," an airman's traditional final flight and subsequent dousing with a hose and a bottle of champagne. Earlier in the day, about 180 airmen received framed letters of appreciation as part of the unit's first Hometown Heroes Salute ceremony to recognize men and women who have been deployed for least 30 consecutive days since 9/11. Their families were recognized as well; spouses were given rosewood pen and pencil sets, and children took home personalized dog tags.

The unit that led to the 111th Fighter Wing's creation was established in 1924 as a Philadelphia-based Army observation squadron. After several upgrades, reincarnations and missions, the 111th planted roots at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in 1963.

Seeing the end of flight operations was, for at least one long-time local, like losing a childhood friend.

Dan Teker of Warwick, who came to Sunday's ceremonies with his wife, Lisa, said one of his favorite things to do as a kid was ride his bike out to the air station. His mother joked that the base made a terrific baby sitter.

"I would sit here days upon days just watching the planes," said Teker, now a member of the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association's aircraft restoration team. "It's just, I don't know, part of my childhood. And now it's going away. It's sad."

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended in 2005 that the base close and military operations move out, though it was later decided that the 111th would stay at Willow Grove in a non-flight capacity.

That capacity has yet to be determined.

"It's a little bittersweet," said Lt. Colonel Mike Shenk, a pilot whose 10 deployments have taken him to Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, and who was among those honored at the Hometown Heroes ceremony.

The Perkasie resident said he flew his fini flight on Friday. He guessed that his next mission would involve a desk job.

As the Shenk family ate lunch in a hangar, the airman's mother, JoAnn, called the day's events bittersweet, too.

"But we're very, very proud, too," she said.

The 111th Fighter Wing commander, Col. Tony Carrelli, also called Sunday's events bittersweet for a unit whose identity has long been rooted in flight.

Still, "we have great people here and they can do anything," he said. "They're just machines out there. It's the people who fly. It's the people who bring them to life."

Associated pictures:

Three A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs" of the 111th Fighter Wing fly over airmen for its last combat training mission after 86 years of unit operations Sunday afternoon at the Willow Grove Air Reserve Station in Horsham Township. (Photo by Carl Kosola / Staff Photographer)

Lt. Colonel Bill "Griff" Griffin of the 111th Fighter Wing walks past airmen to present the American Flag that was flown on the wing's last combat training mission Sunday afternoon at the Willow Grove Air Reserve Station in Horsham Township. (Photo by Carl Kosola / Staff Photographer)

Colonel Howard "Chip" Eissler of the 111th Fighter Wing gives thumbs up from his Thunderbolt II "Warthog" after flying in his last combat training mission Sunday afternoon at the Willow Grove Air Reserve Station in Horsham Township. (Photo by Carl Kosola / Staff Photographer)

Four A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" of the 111th Fighter Wing taxi themselves in after flying in their last combat training mission after 86 years of unit operations Sunday afternoon at the Willow Grove Air Reserve Station in Horsham Township. (Photo by Carl Kosola / Staff Photographer)

Please note: This news article is already hot-linked with the headline "Taking the final flight--ceremonies and a bittersweet celebration marked the end of an era for the 111th Fighter Wing" in the local news coverage section on 111th Fighter Wing's public website. But at the moment, there's no related official news article by 111th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. And so I hope, on their website Courier Times will release larger versions of these historic pictures.

Dedicated in Love

This blog is dedicated to Marina Naumann, my latest female partner who died after incurable pancreas cancer on June 17, 2010, just only a half year after diagnosis. Marina was the second true wife in my life, and she always supported my long-year enthusiastic research work on the Hog, especially since the beginning of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Rest in peace, Marina.